01/12/2026
🐎 Is Coconut Oil Actually Good for Horses?
Let’s talk about fat — because the type matters.
🌱 How horses are designed to handle fat
Horses evolved to eat:
• Forage (fiber)
• Very small amounts of fat naturally found in grasses & seeds
• Mostly unsaturated fats, not saturated fats
👉 Important: Horses do NOT have a gallbladder.
That means they release bile slowly and continuously — not in a big surge like humans do.
Because of this, horses struggle to digest large or dense fat loads, especially saturated fats.
🥥 Coconut oil: what’s the issue?
Coconut oil is:
• ~90% saturated fat
• Mostly medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs)
MCTs can be helpful for humans — but horses are built very differently.
🚫 Why coconut oil can be problematic for horses
1️⃣ Saturated fats are harder to digest
• Require more bile coordination
• Horses already have limited fat-digesting capacity
• Can lead to:
– Loose manure
– Hindgut disruption
– Reduced fiber fermentation
2️⃣ MCTs bypass normal digestion
• Absorbed very quickly in the small intestine
• Bypass the slow, steady energy system horses rely on
• Can stress:
– The liver
– Insulin regulation (especially in easy keepers or IR horses)
3️⃣ Not supportive of the microbiome
• Coconut oil has antimicrobial properties
• Helpful topically — but internally it can suppress beneficial gut microbes
• This is the opposite of what we want in a hindgut fermenter
4️⃣ Not anti-inflammatory for horses
• Saturated fats tend to be pro-inflammatory in horses
• Especially compared to omega-3–rich fats
⚠️ When coconut oil might be used (rare cases)
Very small amounts may be tolerated:
• Short-term weight gain in hard keepers
• Senior horses with poor dentition
Even then:
• Doses must be tiny
• It should never be a primary fat source
• There are better options 👇
✅ Better fat options for horses
✔️ Whole-food fats (best choice):
🌾 Ground flaxseed (gold standard)
• Omega-3 rich
• Anti-inflammatory
• Supports gut, skin, joints & hormones
🌱 Chia seed
• Similar benefits
• Very gentle and well-tolerated
💡 Bottom line:
When it comes to fat, horses do best with small amounts of gentle, whole-food, unsaturated fats — not concentrated saturated oils.
